Women and Reform in a New England Community, 1815-1860

284 Pages·1999·31.877 MB·English

by  Carolyn Lawes

Women and Reform in a
New England Community,
1815-1860
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Women and Reform
z• n a
New England
Community,
1815-1860
J.
Carolyn Lawes
THE UNJIVERSITY PREss oF KENTucKY
Copyright © 2000 by The University Press of Kentucky
The University Press of Kentucky
Scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth,
serving Bellarmine University, Berea College, Centre
College of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University,
The Filson Historical Society, Georgetown College,
Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky State University,
Morehead State University, Murray State University,
Northern Kentucky University, Transylvania University,
University of Kentucky, University of Louisville,
and Western Kentucky University.
All rights reserved.
Editorial and Sales Offices: The University Press of Kentucky
663 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40508-4008
www.kentuckypress.com
Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from
the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-0-8131-2131-4 (cloth: acid-free paper)
This book is printed on acid-free recycled paper meeting
the requirements of the American National Standard
for Permanence in Paper for Printed Library Materials.
Manufactured in the United States of America.
Member of the Association of
American University Presses
For
Robert B. and Jane G. Lawes
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
1 Keeping the Faith
Women's Leadership in an Orthodox
Congregational Church 9
2 Missionaries and More
Women, Sewing, and the Antebellum
Sewing Circle 45
3 Maternal Politics
Gender and the Formation of the Worcester
Children's Friend Society 83
4 "Rachel Weeping for Her Children''
Mothers, Children, and the Antebellum
Foster Family 113
5 From Feminism to Female Employment
Organized Women in Worcester in the 1850s 161
Conclusion 181
Appendix: Statistical Data 185
Notes 189
Bibliography 237
Index 259
Illustrations follow page 118
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Acknowledgments
This study began as a dissertation in the Department of History at the
University of California at Davis, under the direction of the late, and
gready missed, Paul Goodman. Whatever insights the following pages
might offer are due in no small measure to his example of thorough and
nuanced scholarship. I am also deeply indebted to F. Wilson Smith,
professor of history emeritus, and to Karen Halttunen, professor of his
tory, for their generous guidance, unyielding standards, and constant
support. The Department of History provided many years of financial
support through liberal teaching assistantships and the Emmanuel
Ringleblum Fellowship in History. The Graduate Division of the Uni
versity of California at Davis funded the preliminary work upon which
this study was based with a Humanities Graduate Research Award and
a Humanities Institute Dissertation Fellowship.
The vast majority of the archival research for this book was con
ducted at the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachu
setts, a premier library ofA merican history. At the AAS I was privileged
to be selected as a Kate B. and HallJ. Peterson Fellow, which not only
supported my research financially but introduced me to a congenial schol
arly world I scarcely imagined existed. Among the society's unparal
leled professional staff, I wish to thank John B. Hench, Joanne D. Chaison,
Marie Lamoreaux, Thomas Knoles, Caroline F. Sloat, and Laura
Wasowicz for their many efforts on behalf of this project.
Other individuals in Worcester also eased this study along. Ken
neth]. Moynihan, professor of history at Assumption College, took an
early interest in my work. He not only shared with me his extensive
knowledge oflocal history, but graciously read the manuscript and saved
me from several errors. Kenneth and MaryJ o Moynihan also welcomed
me into their Paxton home and made my after-library hours something
to which I gready looked forward. My thanks as well to Nancy Gaudette
of the Worcester Public Library, Theresa B. Davitt of the Worcester
Historical Museum, Mary Kate McMaster, formerly of the American